Medleys And Remnants
by MujakiX
Summary: Everyone has a story, and every story has a different path. These are the roads not taken, and the voices of the silent. A series of one-shots and short stories set in the Harry Potter Universe. Obviously AU.


**(Author's Note: It seems everyone else has a drabble and novella collection, so I thought I would start my own. The original idea was sparked when I saw the final movie this past weekend, and my horror at the sight of one of my favorite characters dying... so begins this little tribute to her, and any other ideas I have that aren't quite enough to stand on their own. These will be mostly drama, a little angst here and there, and hopefully a lot that disturbs and gets you thinking. Titles and/or previews for the next chapters will be found after the end of each story.)**

**Medleys and Remnants**

_**an HP Collection**_

* * *

_Last Stand_

* * *

Chaos.

I really should have tied my hair back before it all started. I never thought my day would end like this. Or that I would even be in this predicament in the first place! Maybe I should have paid more attention to the cards Parvati drew yesterday – she was always better at that sort of thing anyway. To be fair, she didn't think much of them at the time either.

Neither of us did.

The Six of Wands.

The Ace of Swords.

The Tower...

Parvati was always better at these things...

I hear something behind me. I snap around as quickly as I can and find myself face to face with an ivory mask. Immediately, there is a sharp pain across my jaw and I stumble sideways, tripping over a fallen suit of armor. In the face of all this I try to smooth my skirt down – trying to retain some modesty despite the fact I'm scared out of my mind.

I'm _scared._

The hooded figure with the ivory mask raises it's wand, and without thinking I whip mine towards the armor still beneath my bare legs. A helmet flies upward, shattering the mask to reveal a man with dirty blonde hair... I'm breathless at how _ordinary_ he looks. I could have passed this man by a hundred times over the years in Diagon Alley.

I probably did, never knowing what he was really like.

The Death Eater's face twists into an ugly snarl, and I roll sideways to avoid a slash of violet fire arcing from his wand. I cover my eyes with my free hand, the heat singeing my sleeves anyway, and I banish the rest of the armor right into his chest. There is a dull _thump_ and the sound of metal clattering to the ground.

I open my eyes to the sight of the cloaked man slumped over dead, a sword having run through his heart and a metal gauntlet lodged in his stomach. Any other time, I would have been proud that I cast the banishing charm silently.

Right now, I just feel sick.

"Ah... so you have a little bite in you."

I look up and see a massive man... if he could really be called that. I hadn't ever seen anyone more than two metres tall before, but this man was closer to three and dressed in a black robe that strained against his broad chest. His dark hair looked matted and greasy, as if he lived outdoors, and the long, stringy hair along his jaw was just as neglected. He smiled at me with sharp, pearly white teeth, and I felt _dirty_ somehow. Something about him felt just as filthy and corrupt as he looked.

_Fenrir Greyback._

"I think I'll have a little bite myself." He said in a voice that sounded choked with gravel. He hunched forward like some great beast, and I could hear a tiny voice in the back of my mind screaming at me to run. Run.

"You should probably run now."

And I do.

* * *

"Hey guys! I brought a surprise with me!"

"More of Aberforth's cooking?"

I tune Neville out as I watch Parvati shuffling her Tarot deck, a bit lost in the motion of the cards. Her readings had become darker and darker the past few days... I knew that it didn't bode well, but she was convinced she was just letting her feelings influence how she was interpreting them.

The Tower.

I felt a chill crawl across my shoulders, and that's when I heard the whispers.

"Harry?"

"Harry's back!"

Harry Potter.

I knew without a doubt that my life was going to change again because of him.

It was in the cards after all.

* * *

I leaned against a wall, my chest heaving with every breath. I was never in great shape to begin with, and between those damned Carrows and the infrequent meals Aberforth was able to smuggle to us I had only gotten worse. Fear could only get me so far...

"Done already?" Greyback whispered. He was walking along the edge of the hallway opposite me, keeping me well in sight with those black eyes, "You too scared to run anymore, or you just gonna die tired?"

I don't want to die.

"Aww... you are scared." He grinned again, those white teeth glittering in the dim light of the hallway, "Perfect."

He lunged, and in a state of perfect panic I raised my wand to him, "_Confringo!"_

I couldn't help but feel a little satisfied at the look on his face when the air in front of him exploded, sending him flying backwards into a wall. I turned around to run again when I felt something hit my left leg – it went rigid and I had to catch myself on the wall to keep from falling over where I stood. Glancing behind me, I saw the werewolf with his wand pointed at me, a thin ribbon of blood trickling down his face.

He wasn't smiling anymore.

* * *

Harry Potter. We were never friends, not really. But I learned a lot from him...

I learned that I was a coward.

He taught us, he taught anyone who wanted to learn. I just wanted a chance to get an OWL in defense, though the chance to try and chat up the quiet, handsome boy might have been a factor as well. Everything was lovely, and though he ended up turning his attentions to Cho Chang, I was still happy to be learning with my friends. Till that vile toad woman caught us all, at least.

One day later on in the year, I felt my coin heat up out of the blue. Harry was calling us. He wanted us all together again, so I gathered my wand and started looking for my shoes when I thought of something...

What if it was a trap? I mean, we were ratted out before. Someone could be trying to draw us out and catch us all at once again.

What if it wasn't a trap?

What if it was dangerous?

I stopped dead, my shoes slipping out of my hands and falling to the ground. What if it wasn't pretend anymore? What if something had happened? What if something went wrong?

I didn't want to die.

The next day, I knew I had made a mistake. I could instantly tell who had answered Harry's call... it was in their eyes. Neville... Ginny... even bloody _Looney Lovegood_ had answered the call.

And I had stayed behind.

Hermione Granger was in the hospital wing, and she stayed there for nearly a week. Harry himself looked like death warmed over, and his eyes were so _sad..._

I didn't want to die. And that was when I knew it, clear as crystal.

I was a coward.

* * *

I limped over to a balcony – my leg remained stubbornly frozen, no matter what spell I used to try and fix it – and started to try and heal my cuts. Greyback was fond of those, deliberately clipping me with weak slicing hexes to slow me down, to make me bleed. I tried my silent banisher again, but he was too big for anything I could throw at him. Out of desperation, I cast my strongest blasting curse at the ground in front of him and used the dust it kicked up to get away.

I could hear screaming in the distance, and the sound of thunder echoed through the halls. I wasn't the only one fighting for their life tonight...

I hear shuffling down the hall, and I don't even have to look to know it's him. Each step he takes is a small earthquake, and his labored breathing is more a growl than anything else. Even if he wasn't a werewolf, he would still be a monster.

This is it.

"Girl." He spits the word... hunting me is no longer amusing to him, "You have no idea what I'm gonna to do to you."

I take a breath. Harry Potter is on my mind, the wand motion is just as easy as the day he taught it to me.

"_Expelliarmus."_

Somehow I catch him off-guard. Whatever he says next is cut off when his wand is ripped from his hand and lands at my feet. With my good leg, I crush it under my heel and kick it aside. The rage he feels is clear as day on his face, coming off of him in waves, and he charges at me.

I throw everything I know at him, the blasting curse, leg-lockers, stunning spells... but he's too far gone to even notice them and I'm too exhausted.

This is it.

I don't want to die.

I clutch my wand in my hand, willing all my strength into it. Greyback is more beast than man now, but everyone needs their sight...

"_DIFFINDO!_"

He's nearly on me when I cast it, when I whip my wand across his face and cut his stupid eyes out of his head. His guttural roar becomes a scream as he slams into me, both of us impacting stone and I feel a wet snap in my chest. We crumple to the ground in a tangled heap, and I try desperately to squirm out from under his tremendous weight. I swallow air as I pull myself out from beneath him, and a sharp pain in my side brings everything into utter clarity. I'm pulling my hair out of my face and trying to stand up when I feel it. Like fire across my back, a tearing, ripping sound and the scent of copper fills the air. I take two clumsy steps forward before my legs give out entirely.

"You _bitch_, you worthless whore!" Greyback screams, his face a crimson mask. He pulls me up and rakes me with his claws again, tearing my jumper off and cleaving me from my neck to my belly. I feel like someone is pouring molten hot lead on my body, but I refuse to scream. I will not scream!

He grabs me roughly by the neck and brings his dripping, ruined face down to meet mine. Those pearly teeth are stained red now, and I look away... knowing exactly what's going to happen next. He howls, a loathsome animal noise despite the human form he's in at the moment, and finally sinks his teeth into my neck.

Oh.

_Oh..._

I don't feel it anymore. I can see myself clear in my mind's eye, the creature pulling chunks of flesh out of my neck, the steaming blood a red halo around my head. Somewhere to my right, I see Hermione Granger come around the corner and stop dead in her tracks, Harry and Ron close behind. In her eyes is something close to horror.

It's okay! Really! I don't really feel it anymore, though I wish I could talk to them, to tell them not to be sad. I want to tell Ron that I'm not mad anymore, I want to tell Hermione that I'm sorry, and I know she didn't steal him from me and that I wished I could be smart like she was and how no one should worry about what Parvati's cards said because they weren't about everyone else just me just me I see Harry and I'm sorry I wanted so much but I'm stupid and got myself into trouble and I would have gone with him if he just asked I would have kissed him if he just asked... I was going to talk to him but I didn't go with him and after that I couldn't bear to look into his eyes because I knew I wasn't worth it and if I could go back in time I would just

* * *

-{0}-


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